Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard

 

This is a young adult fantasy novel (Rated PG-13)

 

♥♥♥

(Three Red Hearts)

 

 

Book Summary

 

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

 

 

 

My Review

I must say with all the hype, I picked this book up. This isn’t my M.O. lately because generally hype up’d books don’t interest me. However, I must say I was swayed by the cover and I love all things king and queens.

I won’t lie. The book was entertaining. If not for that I would have rated it lower. I’ve changed my ratings in 2015, and 5 star books must be home runs. And because this story lacked originality and all the plot twist were predictable, I couldn’t give it 4.

Here is my problem with originality. Unlike contemporary romance where everything under the sun has been done, each book’s worth is on how an author strings events together and more emphasis is then on the writing itself. In fantasy, you can dream up anything.

So why did this feel like Hunger Games, Divergent, the TV Show Reign, the reverse of Maria Snyder’s Poison Study series, etc. I could go on, all twisted together. There is another fantasy series with a girl that goes to the castle and she is different. I can’t for the life of me remember the title. But it was written a couple of so years ago. This book reads like it. For all those reasons, I can’t give it more hearts.

What saddened me more is every twist was like a red car a mile away on a flat road, even the one at the very end. I knew and predicted everything that was going to happen. And there were so many ways to try and fool the reader and she failed, at least with me.

And the writing wasn’t just okay. Half the time, I didn’t get a picture painted in my head of what was happening. But I’m not big on over details. I prefer less than too much.

However, with that said, I’ve read other books that mirror others. And this one intrigued me enough to see if book two can stand on its own and surprise me somehow. After reading over a 1000 books, not much does.

So should you read? I can’t say it’s the worst book ever. And like I said before, I was entertained. I imagine you will be too. So if you like fantasy novels, you might read this one. I hear that it’s a lot like a previously published book Red Rising. I’ll have to check that one out. It’s only fair to that author, if their idea came first. However, I see so much of this book in others, I’m not sure anyone can claim originally for this idea.

One other burning question, does it end on a cliffy? I happen to be one of those people who enjoys a good cliffy. And I will say that as with any series, it ends in a place where you want to know more. However, it doesn't end on a question that will make you rant at not having the next book. So you are safe in reading and not waiting to the next book.

Audio Review

Amanda Dolan did a good job with narration. For the most part she kept the characters distinguishable.

My book boyfriend Cal.

 

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